Oil-switch.



C. D. HASKINS.

, OIL SWITCH.

` l APPLICATION IIIJEI) NOY.19,19Q. V y V 995,000. .Patented June 13, 1911'.

/m/emor Cdr [Z2/m55; 176

UMTEDS' o LnYL'n. Rasmus;-

.ATENT 4ernten.

F SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, 'ASSIGNOR T0 GENERAL ELECTRIC coureur, n connomrron or New vonk, .v

OIL-swingen.

. Specification of Letters Patent, Patntd Junl, 1911;

.applicativa aied'november 1a, 1906. serial No. 343,973.;

Toall whom/t may coz/wem:

' Be it known that I' Canin.l l). Hasnnvs, a.. citizen of the United States, residing aty I- possible consistent with carrying the current without undue heating, and as a result,lwhen the circuit is opened an arc of'high tempera.-

ture forms on a comparatively small area of v ease,

metal;` volatilizing the metal and being eX- l ceedingly diiiicu'lt to extinguish. If, however, the arc should form between parallel surfaces or along parallel edges of comparatively great eXteIrt, the arc would be diffused over such surfaces or alongfsuch edges, the temperature of. the arc gasesy -would be comparatively low, and lthe arc couldv be 'extinguished withcomparative The object oit my invention. is to provide a l switch in. which thearc formed on opening the circuit is` diffused'. overl an area sutilciently great so that the aro-'is thin, of low current density, and easily extinguished;

which when mounted on a switchboard, re-

' quires a mihixnum amount of space thereon,

`contact -at the. same instant.

so that a switnhboard shorter than would 35 otherwise be required may be used, and in which the insulating liquid is caused to flow` across the contacts for the purpose of breaking and extinguishing the diffuse arc formed between said contacts.

.v In carryingout my invention I `preter to vuse contaet's oi such area,or, where the con-v fta'ctsare'in the form of a long, `thin blade, of

such length that the 'arc Vformed between them'upon opening the circuit will be diiituse andcof low current density,'and to separate these cof-.ltacts in such a way that the engaging surfaces of the lcontacts are always parallel, so that every point of the surfacev of one contact leaves the surface of the other By suitable means the contacts are interlocked when `the switch isclosed in a manner to insure -the out. y. My' invention -will best be vunderstood by-4 of'the other c ntact at the same instant."` AI also provide eans for causing a How-of;

' separationI of Ithe contacts with aquick-t 'break, every point of the engagingsurfa'ce of one contact leaving the engaging Surface 55-1 insulating liquid across the contactsfto'e'X-f tinguish the diffuse arc, as well .as other fde tails and improvements hereinafterpointed reference to thejaccompanying drawings, in

which-` Figure 1 shows a hand-operated oil switch embodying. my invention, the switch being vshown partly in section; and Fig.` 2 is a sec-l -tionalfview along the line 2, 2, of-Fig. 1.*

llhe switch 'shown in the drawings'is a hand-operated o il switch intended to be mounted' upon a' switchboard, but 'the for'm shown is for the purpose `of illustration only, and my invention may be embodied in' switches of'many'diderent forms and types, as I may operate the switch. by a motor," and liquid submergingthe contacts. The switch which carries a. framework 2, in'which-the operating handle 3 is pivoted. A Vlatch 4c controlled by an electro-responsive' device 5, holds the handle 3 in the position shown/in Fig. '1- when the switch is in the closed yposition.v In case an 'abnormal current-is flowing in the,y circuit, the latch 4 releases the handle 3 and permits theswitch toppen. "The handle 3 isA connectedk by lmeans 'of a bell-crank lever 6, a link 7 bell-crank 8, .and

'may dispense with the' body of insulating .is mounted upon apanel, the front 'of link 9 to the movable element ofthe switch. A

On the'rear of the panel 1 a frame'l() is. mounted which forms a support for theconf tacts of the switch, -andfin which ythe bellcrank 8 is pivotally mounted. The frame 10 is formed with two sideplate's, each of which has'an upwardly extending projection,'the

projections being. connected vat lthe .upper--A end by the pin 11. A link 12,- iounted lupon the pin l1, swings between'theside plates 'of the frame 10. Another link 13 is pivoted to the link- 12 at one end, and has apin in the' other end carryingv rollers 14, Ioperating,in slots in the side platesfof the-frame 10,1the

slots forming a guide' to causethe rollers' lt'to move ina straight line, The/pin 11 and the pin upon which the rollers 14: are

v forming a toggle actuated by means -of the link 9 and moving the rollers 1a up and down in the guiding slots. The pin on whichI the rollers la are mounted passes t'hrough a projection on a yoke 15, which carries at each end thereof a rod 1G; these v`rods passing through'guides 17 in the frame 10, and being connected at their lower ends to a metal plate 1S to which is securely attached a block 19 preferably made of soapstoneor similar insulating material. The block '19 carries a contact 20, which is made with an engaging surface of such comparatively great area that the arc caused by opening the circuit for which the switch is designed is very diuse and easily eXtinguished. The form of Contact shown is a long thin blade, the length of which varies with the amount of energy transmitted through the circuit to be opened, but is always great enough sothat .the arc -is exceedingly diffuse and of low current den? sity at any particular point on the contact because of the long line of separating metallic surfaces; moreover the extended line of contact permits the adjacent metal to carry away the heat and thus reduce the volume of arcgases permitting easy extinguishment of the arc. If the circuit carries a large amount of energy the contacts may be as much as five feet long, in which case the switch will be operated by means of a motor or similar source of power. A switch having contacts of this form is long and narrow, and when mounted with one end secured to suitable supporting means, such as a switch-l board, and its length at right angles to the switchboard, requires much less room upon the switchboard than other switches ofequal capacity, so that my invention renders possible the control of circuits carrying a given amount of energy from a switchboard much shorter and cheaper than would be required if other switches were used.

The Contact 2() has a ridge 21 along the lower edge thereof and cogerates with a similar contact 22 having a similar ridge 23, the ridges being formed by grooving or cor# rugating the contact-blades.. The ridges on the contacts are so proportioned, as shown in Fig. 2, that when the contacts are in engagement the ridge on the contact 20 interlocks with the depression in the Contact 22 result ing from the formation of the ridge 23. The contacts are thus interlocked in such a man@ ner that when the switch is opened the contact-blades separate along their entire length at the same instant. Other means for insuring this result may be used, if desired. The contact 22 is supported upon insulators cenone which, in turn, are mounted upon a yoke 25 suspended from the frame 10. One lead of the circuit is connected to the stationary contact 22 while the otherlead is connected to the movable contact 20 by means of flexible, stranded cable, which 'permits the' movement of the contact 2O. A. partition 27 is attached to the yoke and in the middle of the partition a swinging valve 28 is loosely mounted. The contacts are immersed in oil in the removable oil vessel 29, which has an insulating lining. The insulating block 19 lits closely to the wall of the oil vessel 29, as shown in Fig. 2, and the outer edges of the partition 27 are close to the insulating lining of the oil can; the valve 28, however, being free to swing. The result of this arrangement is that the insulating block 19 acts as a piston, the walls of the oil vessel, the V4partition 2T, and the contact 22, forming the cylinder in which the piston acts, so thatl when Isaid block is drawn up, the valve 28 swings into the position shown in Fig. 2, where it acts as an obstruction to the tlow of oil and consequently the oil tends to flow between the contacts as the contacts separate.

The' operation of the switch is as follows :-The .switch is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in the closed position, and when it is desired to open it, the handle 8 is moved in the properl direction, thereby permitting the springs, which are under strain when the switch is closed, to contract and open the switch with a quick break. The insulating block 19and the contact 2O move upward causing the contacts 2O and 22. to separate along the entire length of their engaging edge at the same instant, this result being aided by the interlocking of the edges or corrugations upon the two contacts, as this interlocking overcomes any tendency for the contacts to separate at one end rather than along their entire length. lWhen the contacts separate in the manner described, the

arc which results from the rupturing of the Acircuits is spread. over the entire area or along the entire length ofj the engaging surfaces of the con'acts and is therefore, very diffuse and of a ow..temperatureby reason of low current density. lhen the contacts separate the-insulating liquid in the oil vessel 29 tends to flow across the contacts at right angles thereto, and this flow of cooll oil is very effective in extinguishing the arc which, on account of being diffused along the engaging surfaces of the` contacts 2O and 22, is very easily extinguished. It 1s apparent that other means for causing the flow of oil across the contacts could be substituted for that disclosed in this application.

It is obvious that my invention may be embodied in many different forms of switches and l therefore, do not wish to be restricted to the precise form shown and described, but intend to cover by the terms i eeaooo of the appended claims all changes and modi- V-ications which are within the spirit. and

scope of my invention.

What l claim as'new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,

l. in an electric si'vdach,.the7 `combination Witl oil vessel containing oil, and co? opefatingcontaot blades mounted beneath the oil in said Vessel to separate along their edges andfo'f a length to extend substantiallj,T the' Whole length of said vessel and great enough to term dijuse arc when the cii'- cuit is opened, oioperating means for moving said cont-acts so that said edges separate at all points simultaneouslyu l 2. n electric switch comprising a narrow oblong `vessel containing oil, supporting means at one end of said Vessel for supporting it in a horizontal position, coperating contacts mounted lengthwise of said vessel and beneath the yoil to separate along thein edges, said contacts being of a length greaten-ough to form a diiluse arc and 'to extend substantially the entire length of said Vessel, and operating means comprising an operating member adjacent said supporting'means for moving said contacts to separatetthem at 4all points alongitheir edges simultaneously and to maintain said edges parallel.

. 3. n electric switch comprising a panel,

a` narrow oblong vessel eontaining oil,

means mounted on said 'panel for suppoiting said vessel at right angles to the panel 'Withv one end adjacent thereto, operating mechanism comprising-an operating handle mounted on said. panel, and thin cooper* ating relatively movable contacts connected to said mechanism and of a length suilicientto entend substantially 4the entire length of said vessel and to form a diffuse arc when sepaiated9 said contacts being mounted lengthwise et said vessel and beneath the oil to. maintain their i edges .parallel during movementtherebt7 form a long diuse are beneath the oil in said Vessel.

4a ln an electric switch, the combination with an oil vessel containing oil and long thin cooperating Contact blades mounted beneathl the oil in said Vessel to separate along their edges and having interlocking projections thereon parallel to the engaging edges of said bla-des, oi' means for causing said blades to move at right-angles to the interlocking projections, whereby said blades separate at all points 'of engagement simultaneously.

5. ln an electric s\vit cl1 .the combination with an oil Vessel containing oil and thin cooperating' Contact blades mounted beneath the oil in said-Vessel tolseparate along their edges and of a length great enough to eX-.

tend substantiallythe entire length of said vessel and to form a diuse arc when the circuit is opened, oi operating means for` CARYL D HASKNS l/Vitnesses v BENJAMIN E. il-lutin7 Hanau Gimeno. 

